What does it mean that the righteousness of God is revealed (Romans 1:17)?

Thirdly, the reason it is God's power to save every one that believes is that "therein is righteousness of God revealed". If there is no way whereby man can be saved righteously, there can be no salvation for man. It is obvious that whatever God does must be in righteousness. In the gospel God is revealed as acting righteously, and therefore with power to save. It is true that in the gospel we see the revelation of the love, and grace, and mercy of God: but of these blessed qualities the Apostle does not speak in this passage, but of the righteousness of God. This is going to be the great theme of the early part of the Epistle. As we have seen, his object in writing the Epistle is to establish the believer; for this reason the apostle presses the righteousness of God. The sinner does not fear the love, or grace, or mercy of God; but he fears the righteousness of God must be against him. The guilty sinner feels that if God knows all his sins, and acts rightly towards him, according to what his sins deserve, he must be punished. But if one can tell the sinner that the very quality in God that he most dreads &#8212; the righteousness of God &#8212; is the very quality that is for him, and not against him, this will indeed be good news, and go far to win the sinner and establish the believer.</p> <p>Fourthly, the manner in which the righteousness of God is revealed "on the principle of faith" (N. Tr.). It is not revealed to sight, or because of any works that men have done. And if revealed on the principle of faith it can only be to those who have faith. The scripture testifies to this truth for the prophet Habakkuk says, "the just shall live by faith" (Habakkuk 2:4)..

Now this is the glorious revelation which the gospel of God declares. In it the righteousness of God is revealed. It proclaims God's righteous title to deliver from judgment those who deserve to be judged forever. It is saying to sinners (and all have sinned), God is the One who justifies. He is the justifier. He justifies freely. He justifies on the principle of faith. Here is a righteousness which is for all; and all who believe are securely sheltered by it. What a grand message to be proclaimed to men everywhere!

For are we really to conceive that "the righteousness of God" means one thing in Rom. 3:25-26, and another thing in Rom. 1:17, if not also in Rom. 3:21-22? The notion is suicidal. Let us then observe the way in which God's righteousness first comes before us. The apostle says that he is not ashamed of the gospel; "for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek; for therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith." Where is there any allusion to Christ's keeping the law of God? God has not spoken of it: why should we insert it? Our business is not to put notions into scripture, but to gather what God conveys to our souls. We are taught here, that in the gospel His righteousness is revealed from faith to faith. The expression may be somewhat difficult; but, in my judgment, there is no question whatever about law-keeping here, but a tacit contrast with legal requirement. The law demanded righteousness from man, but could get none. In the gospel God's righteousness is being revealed. What a change from the law, with its claim on man for a righteousness he had not! God's righteousness, he says, is revealed in the gospel, because the gospel supposes the redemption is accomplished; it therefore speaks of sin put away and forgiven: in short, it makes known God justifying him that believes. It is therefore God's righteousness, not man's, and is founded on Christ's expiation, "by faith in His blood." Observe, it is the righteousness of God, who justifies "him that believeth." In virtue of the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, God is enabled justly, not only to forgive the believer, but to account him righteous in His own sight.

369 The righteousness of God is revealed in the gospel (Rom. 1:17); and we have become this righteousness in Christ; 2 Cor. 5:21. Let us examine how this has taken place. On the cross Christ was made sin for us, and there bore all the believer's sins. In this position He perfectly glorified God - His majesty, truth, righteousness against sin, His love to sinners, yea, all that He is; and that by having proved His obedience unto death, and His love to His Father in perfect self-sacrifice. The proof of the righteousness of God, and that with regard to what He is in Himself, to what sin is, and what it is in relation to Him, is now shewn in God's having glorified Christ, who perfectly glorified Him in all that He is, in this place of sin, where by man's sin, all this had been dishonoured; and His having set at His own right hand the Man who died - His own Son - and crowned Him with divine glory. This is what the Lord says in view of His death after Satan had entered into Judas. "Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him. If God be glorified in him, God shall also glorify him in himself, and shall straightway glorify him," John 13:31-32. The Son of man has glorified God on the cross, and God has glorified Him with Himself. A man is ascended into the glory of God. (See John 17:4-5; Phil. 2:5-11.) The righteousness of God has been revealed in that He has given Christ, who glorified Him, a place with Himself in divine glory. In John 16:10 this is expressly declared. The descent and presence of the Holy Ghost upon earth is the proof of righteousness, because, since it did not believe on the Son, but had rejected Him, there was none in the world. The presence of the Saviour in heaven at the right hand of God is, likewise, the proof of the righteousness of God: the same Person who was rejected by the world, has been accepted by God, and is now, as come in grace, for ever separated from the world.

This state of ruin Christ has met by redemption; and consequently the gospel is entirely a question of God revealing His righteousness, though so many real Christians misunderstand it through their tradition. The meaning of the phrase is that God acts consistently with what is due to Christ, who has in redemption perfectly glorified God. He glorified Him as Father during His life; yet this could not have put away sin. But He glorified Him as God, when it was expressly a question of our sins, by His atoning death on the cross. Thenceforward God reveals His righteousness in view of that all-efficacious sacrifice; not only vindicating His forbearance in past times, but in the present time justifying the believer freely and fully in consequence of that mighty work. The first effect of God's righteousness, though not referred to in the Epistle to the Romans, is that God sets Christ at His own right hand on high. The next result (and this is the one spoken of there) is, that God justifies the believer accordingly. Rom. 1, no doubt, treats of His righteousness in the most abstract terms. The manner of it is not described till we come to Rom. 3, 4, 5. But even in the first statement we have the broad principle that in the gospel there is the revelation of divine righteousness from faith (not from law), and consequently to faith wherever it be found. Such I believe to be the force of the proposition. Probably the chief difficulty to most minds is the expression "from faith." It means on that principle, not in the way of obedience to law, which must be the rule of human righteousness. Habits of misinterpretation make the difficulty. Faith alone can be the principle if it be a revelation of divine righteousness; and consequently it is "to faith," wherever faith may be.

It is thus God has brought about righteousness for those who have none of their own, and it is presented to men in the gospel, “The righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all” is now held out to all without exception, “and is upon all them that believe.” It is offered to everyone, and it is upon the believer; that is, he has become the righteousness of God in Christ. It is not human righteousness, which would have been by the law, but God’s own righteousness; not man’s consistency with the relationships in which he has been placed as God’s creature, but the consistency of God Himself with His own nature and character, whether previously revealed or unrevealed; His consistency with Himself in taking up the attitude of Justifier of ungodly sinners. This is revealed in the gospel, and the believer stands in that righteousness in Christ.

And observe, it is the power of God because there is revealed in it the righteousness of God. Here we are face to face with a truth of first-rate importance — there is no salvation apart from righteousness; nor would any right-minded person wish there to be.

But let us make sure that we catch the drift of verse 17. "Righteousness of God revealed" is in contrast with the law, the leading feature of which was righteousness from man required. The Gospel's righteousness is "from faith." The preposition from is a little unfortunate. It is rather by. The righteousness which the law demanded from men was to be by (or, on the principle of) works. The righteousness of God which the Gospel reveals is to be reached by faith. Then again the Gospel reveals God's righteousness to faith whereas all that the law brought it revealed to sight. The first occurrence of the word, faith, stands in contrast to works, the second to sight. In the book of Habakkuk there is a prophecy which is fulfilled in the Gospel, "The just shall live by faith." The preposition here translated "by" is just the one translated "from" immediately before. Not by works but by faith.

Let this meaning be adhered to every where, and every passage will be simple, and the doctrine plain and uniform throughout. "The righteousness of God is not, therefore, what is conferred on or imputed to man, but is the character of God Himself. Now when the apostle says, "I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth," he gives as the reason, "for therein is the righteousness of God revealed, by faith, to faith." The revelation of the righteousness of God gives thus its peculiar power to the gospel: God's righteousness in good news to sinners.

Then there is another thing connected with the gospel (or rather, revealed in it), and that is God's righteousness. (v. 17.) In all that God has done, and in all that He is, He is right, and this is so with regard to all His ways with man. Since God is righteous, He must measure out to sin its deserts. This He has done in the cross, but in doing it He has terminated that side of things for Himself. The gospel is the announcement of this. It is good news, made good to us on the principle of faith. It is "to everyone that believeth." (v. 16.)

By contrast another thing comes before us. If righteousness now consists only in association with the gospel, all unrighteousness must come into and abide under the wrath of God. This he touches in verse 18. There is no doubt about what God will do with every form of unrighteousness. Saints cannot afford to be unrighteous. (See 2 Tim. 2:22.) Saints come under the discipline of God now for unrighteousness, and this proves what God will do with it when the whole mass of unrighteousness comes before Him. "Wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness," and this is because righteousness is established for God.

The Righteousness of God. — God's righteousness we read is revealed from faith to faith. It is important to be clear as to the meaning of this statement. God's righteousness means His consistency with that which He is, for He must always act in accordance with the characteristics of His nature. He is righteous, so He cannot think lightly of sin. He can make no compromise with iniquity. Punishment therefore must overtake those finally impenitent. Reason teaches this. Government and order, it is plain, would collapse if wickedness was never to be dealt with. Sacred history speaks on this matter in no uncertain strain. The fallen angels, as Peter reminds us, yet awaiting their doom, the flood, and the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrha, are all witnesses that God must and does deal with evil. And no one, surely, would arraign the Almighty for injustice in these cases. His righteousness has been, and will again be, manifested in punishing sinners. But the Gospel of God sets forth His righteousness in quite another way, viz., in justifying ungodly people. And it furnishes an opportunity for the full unfolding of this important subject. For this, however, a revelation was requisite, and, blessed be His name, God has given it. For who could otherwise have conceived, that He who is righteous in punishing the guilty, could also be righteous in justifying those who are ungodly? The statements would naturally have been held to be contradictory, and the one destructive of the other.